Pure
by Catheryne
Summary: Roswell/Angel/Charmed xover. After Graduation, M&M are separated by accident. Maria who doesnt remember anything in LA and guilt-ridden Michael in SF. *REFORMATTED AND COMPLETE*
1. Default Chapter

**Part 1**

Who would ever think that she would find the most amazing guy by just doing her ordinary job—saving the world, fighting off demons? If only she knew earlier, she would have exerted all her witchy efforts to quickly earn points and get rewarded by one good man. 

Michael must have noticed her looking, because he turned his head to peek at her from under the brown hair falling at his temples. Man, was he hot! Paige thought. He brooded, and that was sexy in a guy. Of course he had secrets. So many dark secrets in his eyes. But that only made her want him more. It struck some deep-seated chord inside her that she might someday be able to soothe that awful thing bothering him. 

Paige smiled at her boyfriend and sauntered over to where he tended bar. He grinned, leaned over the counter and kissed her swiftly. 

"You changed your perfume," he commented. 

"Like it?" 

He smiled. "It's nice. But you know I really like you in the one I bought." 

She chuckled. Him and his cooky taste in essential oils and that new age stuff. He wasn't using them himself, but he had this weird hang-up. He just had to smell her wearing them! Now was that fair? Ah well, Paige thought. Everyone had something unique. This was just his. If it helped him get over… No. She shouldn't think about that. That was a year ago and it had not bearing in the relationship that they were building. 

"I'll wear it on our next date," she promised. 

Michael seemed satisfied with that. He motioned to the other bartender and headed for the backroom. She followed him a few minutes later. Without knocking she pushed the door open. He was looking in his locker for some tiny jar. She could tell by the way he read the labels and sniffed, then placed them back inside. She thought she saw something clipped at the door of his locker. She stepped closer and saw a rather worn picture of a laughing girl, wrapped in so many layers of clothing. Apparently, judging from the background, it was taken on a snowy Christmas day. The humor in her eyes vanished. 

Suddenly, Michael straightened. He strained to hear the music in the club. He grabbed her hand and propelled her towards the dance floor. Paige smiled happily. Michael wasn't one for expressiveness. So this was something cool. 

"I requested this song," he explained to her. 

With a sinking feeling in her heart, she laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. The singer that Piper hired crooned on the stage, that old, old love song that Paige learned to enjoy, wonder about and despise at the same time. 

"The poets say that all who love are blind, but I'm in love and I know what time it is…" 

~*~*~*~ 

In one of the tall buildings in San Francisco, a stately beauty slammed into the office of her co-vice president. She strode to his table and dropped the financial statements in front of him. 

"What do you think this is—your personal savings account?" she demanded. "What in hell do you need all these private eye fees for, Lindsey? 

"I need to find someone, Lilah," he growled. "You know that." 

She did know that. In fact, she'd been witness to the panic, the sheer drive, the underlying energy in the search for so many months. What she didn't know was why. But the why really didn't matter that much to her. He wanted to find this girl, and that's that. "For heaven's sake, Lindsey, she's been gone a year. She's probably dead." 

While he had been calm the entire time she was freaking out in front of time, he had his limits. By the time the last syllable fell from her lips, he'd shot out of his chair and grabbed her by the collar. "Nobody dies until I let them," he gritted out. "And she isn't dead until I see a body. So don't say stupid things, Lilah. The girl's alive. And I needed her found yesterday!" 

~*~*~*~ 

"Ugh!" The blonde girl made gagging noises while the dark guy in front of her guzzled the thick red liquid from his glass. "That is just gross," she complained. 

Angel put down the glass and raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell if you won't even try it?" 

Her bee-stung lips were screwed in disgust. "At least let me fix it up for taste," she offered. 

He shook his head slowly. "No. Your idea of fixing the taste is to dump chili sauce in my precious fresh blood supply. Let me tell you, Type O and Tabasco—don't mix." 

"Finicky." 

"Sane," he corrected. 

"Ungrateful," she tested. 

Finally, the vampire chuckled a bit. "Comes from being undead." 

Cordelia lowered her compact to watch the two interact. Her eyes narrowed. Angel wasn't being Angel with this Maria around. Her eyes rolled towards the other end of the room. Wesley kept his gaze on his computer screen, but there was a smile on his lips. Gunn was unabashedly watching the two, amazement clear in his face. 

Finally Maria pushed herself up and grabbed her purse. "As much fun as it was sitting in the dark with you, Angel, I have a job to go to." He had found her work singing over at Lorne's place. At first The Host wouldn't agree to pay Maria when customers were all eager to sing for free. But Angel got her an audition, and the moment Lorne saw the brilliant clarity of her aura, it was all they could do to get the green guy to shorten working hours. According to the demon, he had never seen a more relaxing aura in his existence. 

"Yeah. Gunn's going with you." 

Maria snorted. "I don't have money to pay for a bodyguard." She whirled and left hurriedly. 

Gunn looked to Angel for his next move. The vampire just jerked his head in Maria's direction, and Gunn ran after her.


	2. Pure 2

**Part 2**

**A Year Ago**

"We're almost out of cash," Max announced to his friends. They had been running for a while now. For the first few weeks they had lived on the money that he, Michael and Isabel pooled together. It wasn't much. Isabel contributed the bulk of it with the cash in her purse. 

Oddly enough, the next months they lived on Maria's money. She would leave for a while and say that she would get a job and when she returned, she had enough money to last all of them for some time. They all wondered how Maria did it. Afterwards she'd seem so happy though, and satisfied. Michael would have thought the worst were it not for the fact that she came back less than half an hour after. Oh yeah, and the fact that he trusted her. 

"I can get some," Maria offered. Kyle grinned at her, and Maria rolled her eyes heavenward. She had been leaning back against Michael on the bed. But for the chance to be useful, she sat up. 

Max looked at Michael uncertainly. Beggars can't be choosers. But he was really curious about what Maria actually did to get that much money every time. He agreed and Maria skipped out the motel room happily. "I'll be right back." 

"We know." When the door shut behind her, Max turned to his best friend. "Follow her, Michael." 

"Finally," Michael muttered. Every time she left he wanted to go with her. Max kept telling him not to. They had to respect Maria's choice to be alone. 

He spotted Maria by the reception desk, speaking on the phone. Silently he edged his way closer, careful not to alert her to his presence. 

"Yeah, we're here. Right where I told you. Yeah." Maria looked around, and Michael flattened himself against the pillar so she wouldn't notice. "Really?! That's so great. Thank you thank you thank you! Okay. Bye." 

Maria exchanged a few words with the frowning receptionist. But after she told him her name, the receptionist smiled politely and handed over a thick white envelope. Hastily, Maria broke open the seal and peeked inside. And then she drew out the folded fax paper and read, walking to the stairs. 

All of a sudden the letter was taken out of her hands, and she was looking into the dark, furious eyes of her boyfriend. 

~~ 

Piper laid down the food on the table. She slapped Paige's hand away as she reached to take a piece. "We're waiting for Leo," Piper informed her youngest sister. 

"Orb now, orb now," Paige muttered. 

The blue lights materialized as she prayed. Leo appeared worried, which meant there was something supernatural was building. Paige sighed in resigned dismay. Well she wasn't fighting off demons and warlocks with an empty stomach! While Piper approached her husband to ask what's wrong, she reached for a slice of quiche. 

"We need to save a young woman. She's going to be attacked by sucking demon outside a building in LA," he told them. 

"Beat you to it!" Phoebe announced, with a directory in hand. She was still in her bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her head. "Had a premonition while in the shower. The girl's blonde and the sucking demon attacks her outside the building of Wolfram and Hart, a law firm." She dropped the directory on the table and started rifling through the pages. 

Muffled with food, Paige asked, "Are you even sure this is supernatural?" 

"What do you mean?" Piper inquired. 

"Can't this just be some tryst? I mean, sucking demon. That could really translate to a passionate date with an overeager lawyer given the location," she explained. 

"Good point." 

Before Leo could reply, Phoebe shook her head. "No, no. Definitely a demon. I saw it. Attack, screams. And don't diss attorneys. Cole was one." And then she paused. "Point taken." 

~~ 

"I can't believe this!" Max exploded. "We trusted you, Maria. And all along you've been telling someone where we are, where we're going to be." 

Maria bit her lip. Confronting Max was the only requirement Michael gave her before he'd give her back her letter. "It was the only way he would know where to send the next money." 

"But if we knew that you were laying some sort of breadcrumb trail to us we wouldn't have allowed you to do that." 

Michael, who had been standing behind Maria the whole time, thought that it was a little hypocritical of Max to be yelling at his girlfriend like this. Sure, he was pissed at first. She was putting herself in danger just so she could support them. And he wanted her to tell Max just so she'd finally come clean. Secrets were a no-no when you had to depend on each other for survival. 

"Look, she didn't think it over. That's that. She won't do it again, okay," Michael snapped at Max. "Come on, Maria." He took her towards their own room. She was still a bit shell-shocked at how Max reacted, so she let Michael lead the way. 

He sat her on the bed and gave her back the letter. "Sorry. I didn't know Max would act like such an ass. I thought he was going to tell you how stupid it was and let it go." 

Maria took her letter and looked at him directly in the eye. "It wasn't stupid, Michael. It was working. We were okay and he wouldn't have said anything to anyone, least of all the FBI!" 

"It wasn't the smartest thing to do. We're running and hiding. And you tell your uncle to wire the money to our next stop. It's like plotting our collective demise." 

She huffed. "I didn't tell him to send the money. He offered!" 

"Maria—" 

"Fine." 

"Look. I spotted you standing there in the reception desk, your back to the door. The receptionist obviously knows there was money in the envelope. You could have been attacked. You were reading your letter with a manila envelope of cash in the corridor!" 

"It wasn't smart." She had to give him that. 

"You're not putting yourself in more danger than you already have—for us." 

Maria laid down on the bed with her letter. Taking off his shirt and pants, Michael climbed in beside her. She turned her back to him and let him embrace her spoon-fashion. "So read it to me," he requested. 

"What?" 

"Tell me about him. And if you want to share, I'm here." 

He was nibbling on her shoulder. Maria smiled and started talking. "Well he's my half-uncle. My mom's half-brother. And we used to sing together a lot. Sometimes he'd play the guitar while I'm singing. He was my accompanist when I competed at this contest one summer I was vacationing in LA. We won." 

"Musical family," he commented needlessly, just to show that he was still listening. 

"He's really rich, you know. He's vice president at this law firm called Wolfram & Hart. So he doesn't really mind sending me money. He loves me. All high school when we hardly saw each other we wrote and called. And he always told me I was the only pure thing in his life—that I can't him from destroying himself." 

"You make him good." 

"Maybe. Yeah." 

"Well we've got that in common." 

"Michael—" 

"Yes." 

"Do you think I can go see him? We're so close to LA now." 

Max was going to absolutely hate this. But this was a guy who had been unknowingly supporting aliens. He deserved to see his niece. Still, Max was going to kill him for this. "Want me to go with you?" 

"Well, he kinda doesn't know I have a boyfriend. And I don't want him to blow up on you. He doesn't approve of the way we're on the run and all. He thinks it's no way for me to live." Michael tightened his embrace on Maria. He himself didn't like to think of Maria stuck in a life like this. She deserved something more. "So let me work on him first before you come into the picture, okay?" 

~~ 

"What are you still doing in the building, Arco?" Lilah Morgan demanded of the towering demon. "Lindsey fired you, didn't he?" 

"He hired me to get the vampire with a soul. But we didn't agree that I had only a month to do it. He didn't even pay me the rest of the amount we agreed on!" 

"Well you didn't do the job." 

"I'll kill him!" 

Lilah smirked. "Third door to the right." 

Arco crept to the office to find the door open. He was about to storm in when he heard the bastard talking softly on the phone, in a tone he'd never heard him use before. 

"You're really visiting me then. That's great! We'll catch up. I know, Maria. Be careful all right? You know you're the most precious jewel my worthless family ever spawned. Well you and Amy. When will you arrive? That soon? I'll be waiting for you tomorrow night then. All right. Love you." 

Arco stepped in the moment Lindsey put down the phone. "Mr. Mac Donald." 

The lawyer glanced up and glowered at him. "What are you still doing here?" 

"I just wanted to say before I left that it was memorable working with you. Bye." Arco strode towards the elevator grimly. Tomorrow night wasn't too long of a wait.   



	3. Pure 3

**Part 3**

"So do you see anything?" Piper inquired of her sister, who had had binoculars trained on the Wolfram and Hart building for two hours now. 

"Nope," Phoebe told them. She sat down on the passenger side of the jeep and handed the spying instrument to their youngest. "You go. I'm starting to get a crick on my neck." 

Paige squinted to help her see. From the driver seat Piper told her, "Don't do that. You'll get wrinkles." 

"Well there are so many blondes," Paige complained. "This city is like total blonde power." 

"Well I'm betting P3 only twenty percent of those are natural blondes." 

"That's not helping, Piper," Paige said in a high pitched voice. "So who do I have to look for exactly?" 

"She's got blonde hair, straight, past her shoulders. Medium built. And in my vision she's wearing a mud colored coat," Phoebe supplied. "Sorry it's not too specific. It was a really quick premonition." 

"Ummm…" Paige widely moved the binoculars to follow someone. "Would it be specific enough if I tell you that there's one girl near the entrance to the parking area being chased by a seven foot demon?" 

Piper and Phoebe both elbowed their doors open. "Come on!" 

~~ 

Michael didn't feel right letting Maria go alone. Sure, she asked to meet her uncle by herself. But he still should have commuted the way here with her. He didn't have to meet Lindsey Mac Donald. All he had to do was sit in some waiting area until Maria decided it was time to leave. 

So a few minutes after she left, Michael decided to follow her. She was such a brisk walker, even if she was little. By the time he caught up with her, they were already just a few yards away from Wolfram and Hart. 

"Hey Maria!" he called to her. 

She turned around. Her lips parted in surprise at the sight of him. They pulled into a pleased smile. "Didn't know you'd bother to come such a long way, Spaceboy!" she said loud enough for her to hear. 

"You didn't think I'd let you go off without protection, did you?" He strode towards her. 

She had been smiling, standing there just waiting for him so they could walk inside the building together. All of a sudden, her eyes widened in terror and Michael's head whipped to take in the towering beast of a humanoid figure charging towards his girlfriend. 

"No!" he yelled. His legs pumped on the cemented pavement as he struggled to beat the creature to Maria. "Run!" he screamed at her. Michael collided with the large attacker and fought with him, rolling on the sidewalk. 

Maria frantically looked around for help. Where just a while ago there were still several people milling about, now the street was deserted except for a long jeep way off. Three slight brunettes were running towards them. "Help us!" she shouted. 

Her scream caught the attention of the demon, and he seemed to recall that it was she he was after. He pushed Michael away and crept towards Maria. "Maria, run!" Michael commanded her again. 

"No, I'm not leaving you!" 

"Run, dammit! I know what I'm doing." 

"NO!" 

"RUN!" Barely three feet away, Maria ducked when the demon grabbed her. "RUN!" Michael kept yelling. Frantic to get away from her attacker, she dashed away and into the street. "Maria, NO!" was the last she heard from him. 

~~ 

"Look, Angel, it was not your fault we lost that girl yesterday. Cordelia's vision was off. We could not have made it on time to save her," Wesley advised Angel wearily. He fastened his seatbelt firmly and held onto the dashboard for his life. 

Violently, Angel slammed his fist on the steering wheel and they veered widely to the left. "You don't understand, Wes. I can't lose them. That's why I'm here—to help them." 

"Well you won't be helping anyone if we die in a car accident!" Wesley watched the meter go past 80 miles on a city road. Granted it was night and no one was about anymore, but they had to be careful in case. 

"I'll still be able to help. I'm already dead remember?" 

"That comforts me, Angel," Wesley murmured. "Really does." 

Angel clenched his fingers on the steering wheel, glowering. They should have known. The little girl in Cordelia's vision was about to be drowned by a cult leader, and he went against his instincts that she would be at Kennon Road. By the time they arrived at the real scene, the seven-year-old was already facedown on the water. 

He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the flash of golden hair until it was too late. "Angel, look out!" 

He slammed on the brakes a nanosecond after the sickly sound of a pliant body hit the windshield. Angel cursed and he and his companion hurried towards the unmoving body on the road. They were at the intersection of one of the streets going to Wolfram and Hart. Wesley thought they saw some scuffle over there, but they had no time to check it out. 

Half the girl's face was covered in blood and Angel could see the large wound at the back of her head. She was barely breathing. They had to take her to the hospital at once. He picked up the girl who was surprisingly light in his arms and set her on the backseat of the car. "Wesley, you drive." 

~~ 

**2003**

He had thought she would be safe. She'd run a safe distance already when the convertible appeared out of nowhere. Then everything occurred in front of his eyes in slow motion. She looked terrified. Now that he thought about it he thought at that last second she looked for him. Michael wished so hard he had been standing up so that she could have seen him at least. But whatever the creature was had held him down. All her could do was scream two useless words, "Maria, NO!" Like she had a choice. She didn't have a choice. 

Up until today he still wondered how the three sisters saved him from the freak that attacked Maria. And until today he wondered how whoever had her buried her, where, and how he would get there. They were questions the sisters couldn't give him answers for. They saved him that was all. 

And through the months that he was catatonic, when he was probably replaying the scene of his girlfriend's murder (because that was what it f-ucking was) as theorized by the shrink, he was assigned to the social worker who helped save his life (when she shouldn't have—a feeling that stemmed from his deep disturbance about the misfortune that befell this Maria, again by the pansy-ass shrink). Paige Matthews saw to it that he went back to the land of reality even if he wanted to be dead. Paige Matthews searched for a family of Michael Guerin, came up with no one, and helped him get a job instead. Who knew his experience with Hank would come in handy and he'd be a bartender in one of San Francisco's hottest clubs? Not that he was great at mixing drinks. Hank just liked straight liquor, beer to be cheap. But Michael learned to handle alcohol and alcoholics—a natural, Piper called him. 

He could have easily looked for Max. Would have taken time but he'd do it. Problem was, he didn't want to go back there. He'd lost Maria. He didn't want to immerse himself in that world again. Besides, they would take him away from California. And he could never agree to that. Maria was here. Wherever it was in California the state buried her, he'd stay. He would find out sooner or later. He was getting chummy with this big policeman the Halliwells were friends with. Maybe he'd help him look for unidentified female girls who got killed last year. Maria deserved one flower at least, maybe a marker with a name. 

"Michael." 

"Yeah?" He looked up from the book he was reading. He noticed that Phoebe looked a bit fidgety and Paige appeared paler than usual. 

Piper sat down and explained the situation to him. "Something came up and the family needs to leave for a while. We need to figure out a… feeling that Phoebe had this morning. You know she's got strong instincts right?" Michael nodded, knowing they were not telling him something but understanding too well what that was like. "We need you to stay here in the Manor for us. I'm expecting a really important call for the club. I need you to take it." 

"Hey no problem," he told them. 

The three left and Michael remembered that he should have kissed Paige bye or something. He shrugged. 

~~ 

"Maria, that was one hell of a story!" Gunn laughed uproariously, clutching his middle. "I don't believe a word of it. Did that really happen?" 

Maria wiped tears of mirth from her cheeks. "You know I wouldn't know, Gunn. But I need to invent some stuff to fill up the huge blank wall I call my past." 

Her newly assigned bodyguard sighed. Give it to the girl to make a joke about her situation. He couldn't believe this was the same girl Angel hit a year ago, with no identification except for a necklace with her name on it. He knew a lot of girls who wouldn't just forgive Angel for robbing her of all her memories just like that. Cordelia for instance. But this girl woke up from surgery and closed her hand over Angel's. When he apologized and admitted the accident was his fault, she had told him, according to Wesley, "It's called an accident because no one meant for it to happen." 

Wesley told him that it was one of those moments with Angel. One of those few minutes when he wouldn't say anything, but there's rapid eye movement. You know he was thinking but he just can't process his thoughts enough to make a coherent sentence. 

And then Angel had become so protective of her. He installed her in a place close to his. One night she walked in while he was… fortifying himself. She screamed her head off and ran to her room. When they coaxed her out, she was surprisingly accepting. That made Cordelia suspect that the girl knew worse secrets than the existence of vampires. She wondered what would be even weirder than vampires and demons though. Certainly nothing would compare. Gunn knew Cordelia just left it at the supposition that since she lost her memory, Maria probably didn't remember that vampires suck humans' blood. Awful thing to forget if you asked him. 

"I really think you should stop being my chaperone all the time." 

Gunn sputtered on his drink. "Chaperone? Little lady, I am not a chaperone. I'm a bodyguard, a genuine security officer, an investigator extraordinaire!" 

"Right. Bodyguards are expensive. I don't need one. You're more useful as part of Angel Investigations. And I can't afford you." 

Gunn shook his head. "With his paranoia, you can wheedle Angel into paying you for keeping me around." 

"I wish he'd be here to listen to me tonight though. Tonight's kind of important." 

"Is it?" Gunn tried to hide his grin. "You're up!" 


	4. Pure 4

Part 4  
  
Paige took in the patrons of the club in slack-jawed amazement. It was the first time she actually saw demons and whatever creatures milling about and who were not interested in killing her or her sisters. Some tables held men who looked more like rhinos and elephants. Standing off in one corner were teenage girls wearing gothic blacks and muted silver. "Those kids give witches a bad name."  
  
"Oh them? They aren't witches. Those are humans who just like to exude the aura," a waitress informed them, before promptly heading off to serve drinks elsewhere.  
  
"Wow," the youngest nonetheless commented in awe. "How did Leo manage to get us in here. This looks pretty exclusive. We didn't tell them we're the Power of Three, did we?"  
  
Piper snorted. "And have these. customers. growl and pounce on us? No way! Let's just say my husband has connections."  
  
"Over both the living and the dead," Phoebe offered. To the looks of puzzlement in her sisters' faces, she told them, "James Joyce." Still those doubtful looks. "An author. You know that story with the party and the doctor?" She sighed in exasperation. "Fine, fine. Michael was reading it and I caught the last line, okay!"  
  
Paige grinned. "I was just wondering." She chuckled. "I mean I would never actually accuse you of being literate."  
  
"Hey!" Phoebe protested.  
  
A cloud seemed to descend on Paige as she inquired, "So where is he? The Host-I don't see any green guy anywhere."  
  
"Are you okay, sweetie?"  
  
"I'm fine, Piper. It's just. the reason that we're here. bothers me."  
  
"Look, we don't really know if my premonition is correct. And I mean so what if I saw that Maria girl being attacked? It could have been a premonition of the past. We're just here to make sure. Whether or not this affects us-"  
  
"It's still an innocent. I know, Pheebs. I know."  
  
"It was in that exact same location. Wolfram & Hart. It could easily have been premonitions of the night she died," Phoebe comforted her sister.  
  
"I hope so. I'm just so insecure I guess. Michael hasn't really been into the idea of us, right from the start. And this new threat-"  
  
"Is not a threat at all," Piper interjected. "If it really is the past, then all we're here to find out is more information. Think about it, Paige. When you get home to San Francisco you can tell Michael everything he's been wanting to find out. Silver lining? If we do learn the details, Michael can close that chapter in his life."  
  
Phoebe nodded. "He's holding on to her because he never got that closure."  
  
Paige's eyebrows furrowed. "So I bring him to the grave and live happily ever after?" She buried her face in her palms. "Oh my God I'm a horrible horrible person!"  
  
The music started up, and Piper looked up at the familiar melody. Paige groaned. There it was again. She could swear that that song was haunting her.  
  
She and Phoebe looked up at the stage at the same time and gasped. "No," she whispered.  
  
Piper cocked her head at them. "What's the matter?"  
  
Liquid eyes turned to the sister who apart from being his boss, had least been involved with Michael Guerin. Paige couldn't speak, so Phoebe had to articulate the horror for both of them. "She [I]is[/I] alive."  
  
~~  
  
Her eyes were closed as the music floated from her fingertips, into the guitar and out to the captive audience. From her lips flowed the words that she knew by heart, although she could never remember why or how. That particular song was just there, and it might as well be etched in her brain for all the times she had unconsciously picked the piece to begin her set.  
  
"The poets say that all who love are blind; But I'm in love and I know what time it is. The good book says, "Go seek and ye shall find." Well I have sought and, my, what a climb it is."  
  
Even though she couldn't recall a face, she vaguely remembered a firm form under her hands. And she was pretty sure that once she had run them over a body that was as hard and unyielding as Angel's. Younger. But then when you put a vampire in comparison, everyone would be younger. She had embraced Angel many times, often Wesley and once the aloof Gunn. But in her mind she vaguely recalled an embrace that held more heat.  
  
And she knew that for the right to hold him, she did have to climb a very steep incline. How sick was it that she remembered that guy's hands roaming all over her body, and even in sleep she could almost recall the desperate way he breathed out her name over and over when he moved over, around, and inside her?  
  
"My life is just like the weather, it changes with the hour. When he's near I'm fair and warmer, When he's gone I'm cloudy with showers. In emotion, like the ocean, it's either sink or swim, When a woman loves a man like I love him."  
  
God! Maria squeezed her eyelids so tight that moisture seeped out. This was what she hated. Knowing that she had been through this amazing, breath- taking, once in a lifetime kind of love but not really experiencing the joy of remembering exactly. It was better if she hadn't experienced it at all. That way, she would not have this sucking, empty, paralyzing feeling where he should have been.  
  
Ignorance is bliss. Da.mn right!  
  
"Never treats me sweet and gentle the way he should; I got it bad and that ain't good. My poor heart is sentimental, not made of wood; I got it bad and that ain't good."  
  
She felt that her crooning was just a melodious way for her heart to keen to the sky. By this point in the song, Lorne would already be standing in front of the stage, drawn by the stormy aura surrounding her, anxious to have her open her eyes and assure him that she's fine. And every night she lied with a smile. And the next night her heart would be wailing at the same piece, while her voice was still controlled and right for a performance. It worked. She had a salary, and she silently screamed at how unjust all this was.  
  
"But when the weekend's over, and Monday rolls around, I end up like I start out, just cryin' my heart out. He don't love me like I love him, nobody could. I got it bad and that ain't good."  
  
Maria put the guitar down on the floor and hastily wiped the tears from her cheeks before finally opening her eyes. She smiled at Lorne, and he nodded and walked away to check on other patrons. She sought out Gunn and didn't find him at the bar where she left him. Three brunettes were regarding her with shock and. fear?. and then she saw them.  
  
Gunn was grinning beside Angel, who bore a bouquet of the most colorful spray of flowers she had ever seen. Maria broke into a smile, not minding Wesley smiling faintly or Cordelia glowering behind the vampire. "Angel!" She flew from the stage and tore through the floor before jumping into the waiting arms. "You came."  
  
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he told her. When he handed her the flowers, he greeted, "Happy birthday, Maria."  
  
Her lips curved uncertainly. "It's not my birthday."  
  
"But it's the anniversary of the night I run you over." Maria's eyebrow arched, so he amended. "Met you, I mean. That's the day you were born for us in Angel Investigations."  
  
"Thank you." She took the flowers and pulled them over to one of the vacant tables. "So did you three save anyone tonight?" she asked eagerly.  
  
"As a matter of fact, we did," Cordelia replied, a tad coldly to Maria's taste. "We've been working really hard."  
  
Angel interrupted, "But we won't bore you with the boring details. It's your birthday. The gory stuff would make us all broody."  
  
"You've always been broody, Angel," Wesley said.  
  
Angel smiled. "No need to let that affect Maria's special day though."  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes and stood up. "Having said that, I'm going home to rest. No need to let my exhaustion set a pall on your day though. Carry on." She turned and left.  
  
"Wow. What climbed up her ass?"  
  
~~  
  
Michael flipped on the remote control, having rounded the hundreds of channels thrice already. There was nothing on. Nothing he cared to watch anyway. The girls were miles away and it was his day off.  
  
He turned off the tv and drew out the picture from his pocket. He took it from his locker when he found out that he was staying the long weekend at the Manor. Michael didn't like not seeing the worn photo for a long time.  
  
She was really young. He remembered they were seventeen when this was taken. If she hadn't met him, she would probably be in Roswell, prepared to raise hellions with someone worthy. Or maybe she would be here in California giving men fantasies with the sound of her voice as she sang and moved on the stage. Either way, Maria would be alive and noisy.  
  
He heard a noise from the attic and immediately sprung to his feet. The sisters wanted him to guard their house while they were away. They probably knew that burglars can easily slip in. With a quick brush of his lips against the still lips on the picture, he crept upstairs.  
  
When he got into the attic he saw a tall black demon standing near the book on a pedestal. Michael raised him hand to ward him off, and a blinding light emerged. When the light vanished, he rushed to where the demon was last seen standing. His attention was caught by the Book.  
  
He read the first page and looked down on his hand. "I'm a witch?" And then he blinked rapidly and shook his head. This was what tv deprivation did to an alien. "I mean, they're witches?"  
  
~~  
  
"Leo!" Piper yelled in their hotel room. "Leo, get your blue ass down here!"  
  
Paige and Phoebe sat on the bed, waiting for their brother-in-law. At the sound of wrath, Leo's orbing took less than three seconds. "What is it?"  
  
Since this was her husband, the other two allowed Piper to handle it. "Did you know about this?" Piper demanded.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"We saw her, Leo. Michael's girlfriend." Paige winced, unnoticed by her sister. "She's alive, Leo!"  
  
Leo's gaze went to Paige, who looked away quickly. "Yes."  
  
"Yes what?" Piper screeched.  
  
"Yes I knew she was alive. I would have felt it if the innocent died."  
  
Piper raised her fingers to her temples as she processed this information. "You knew and you didn't bother to tell us?"  
  
Leo sighed. "I'm sorry. At first I thought she was dead. I couldn't feel her anymore. And then when I started feeling her again it was too late. You'd already fallen for him, Paige."  
  
"Do you know what you've done?" Piper demanded. "You've ruined three lives, Leo! You, mister," she said as she stabbed his chest with her finger, "are not getting any for a loooong time."  
  
Leo walked over to Paige and knelt before her. He took her hand in his. "Paige, I'm so sorry."  
  
She shook her head a bit, as though she weren't all there at that moment. "No, no," she said faintly. "Say sorry to them, not me."  
  
"What are we going to do, Piper?"  
  
Piper sighed. "Well Pheebs, if my useless husband can orb us to the Manor, we're fetching Michael. When I said we're here for closure, I meant it."  
  
"Yeah," Paige agreed lightly. "Would it be okay if I were the one who told Michael?"  
  
"Of course, sweetie."  
  
~~ 


	5. Pure 5

**Part 5**   


At that very moment, Lindsey answered a call from one of the investigators he hired to search for Maria. There was a brisk knock at the door. Lilah Morgan peeked into the room with several thick folders piled in her arms. "Time for work," she announced. 

Lindsey held a finger to his lips to shush her. "Later," he told her curtly, before turning back to his call. 

Incensed, she nonetheless strode into the room and plopped on one of the chairs facing his desk. She unabashedly listened to the phone conversation. At the exact moment his eyes narrowed and a low growl escaped from his lips, Lilah arched an eyebrow. 

She almost jumped from her chair when he threw the black cordless phone across the room, narrowly missing her shoulder by an inch when it flew past. "Lindsey!" she screeched. "What is going on?!" 

The snarl on the man's face darkened his features and sharpened the angles of his face. His expression was enough to knock down the room's temperature a half a dozen degrees. 

"Look, tell me what's wrong!" she demanded. "Didn't he find your niece? For the price he's asking for, he should be able to do his job." 

"He found her," he whispered. 

"All right." Lilah's frown deepened. "Then what are you destroying company property for? Because that's definitely coming out of your paycheck." 

"Shut up, Lilah." 

He only reacted so passionately to matters concerning one person. And Lilah was willing to bet five of her six figures that this involved him too. "If this is about Angel, you know the board will support every decision you'll make. What does he have to do with the investigation?" 

It took a full minute before he even a sign that he had heard her. Lindsey flexed his plastic hand and breathed deeply. It was apparent that he was furious. No one's cheeks could blow so hot and red. "He has her," he said slowly. "The cursed vampire has her." 

For the first time, Lilah's eyes grew wide in shock. "Angel?" 

"I should have known," he muttered darkly. "He'd stoop so low as to take the only pure thing in my life." 

"Don't panic," Lilah told him quietly. "It may not be true. Did the P.I. say that this information is confirmed?" She had to be methodical. This was her job. This was their job, but she would be the only one composed enough to function. 

Tired of the incessant voice in his ear, Lindsey snarled and Lilah backed away several steps. "He saw her himself! He said she was surrounded by Angel and his cohorts. They've caged her in, Lilah!" 

"Da.mmit," she muttered. This was not good. Angel had every reason to loathe Wolfram and Hart. But she never thought he would be this resourceful. "How did even know? We never knew you had anyone resembling family until a year ago." 

Lindsey leaned back and rested his head on the pillow of his cushioned chair. He stared up at the ceiling. Years of saying nothing about them to protect them from the necessary evils of this job and he would lose her to his greatest enemy. He would drive a stake through Angel's heart before letting him kill—or worse, turn—Maria. 

"Did she appear hurt? Did the P.I. say?" 

He knew what she really meant. "There wasn't any indication that he made her drink, or even bit her." 

"Good," she murmured. 

"Now leave me alone," Lindsey demanded. "I need to think." 

~~ 

Michael closed the book, deep in thought. He should have been surprised. There were actually real witches—complete with a Book of Shadows and all. The three didn't seem Blair Witchy though, so he was probably safe. He supposed he could run. He was in a house owned by sister witches. But then again it would be safe to say that the three Halliwells would be better off vanquishing him. What was the difference between demons from other planes and an alien from outer space anyway? They all had powers. 

He wondered if any of them could make things explode too. Now that was a possibility. He could practice his power with them. One of them could probably dreamwalk. He hoped Paige couldn't. Come to think of it, he was sure Paige didn't have that ability. If she did, she'd have broken it off with him long ago. All he'd been dreaming about for a year is another woman after all. It was like he'd been having an affair every night in dreamscape. The healing power. Michael was pretty sure one of the girls had it. They probably fought demons a lot if today was any clue. And nobody gets even a scrape or a scab. 

Michael picked up the charcoal pencil on the table and looked around for the easel. He spotted it in the corner, covered by a dirty cloth. He took off the cover and placed a fresh piece of paper in it. In a mixture of mechanical ease and surreal smoothness, he raised his hand and started drawing. 

~~ 

"Are you sure you can do this, Paige?" Piper asked her sister outside the attic door. The two of them orbed to the living room but found it empty. They searched the entire house and didn't see Michael. When they heard the soft noises from the attic, they figured out that he must be there. 

Paige nodded. "I think so. I mean, if I'm honest with him, that's plus points for me, right?" 

"Honesty always helps." 

"And he'll see that I really care about him, and I'm secure about our relationship. Here I am, the new girlfriend—we're not even a month together, you know—" 

"I know," her sister said. 

"—and I'm comfortable enough with the two of us to tell him that his old girlfriend whom we all thought died a year ago is actually alive," Paige continued as if Piper didn't speak. "That makes me the good girlfriend." She looked to her sister for support. "Right?" 

"Right." 

"And maybe, since it's been an entire year and all, maybe he's let go," she said hopefully. 

When she opened the door, the two of them gazed at the room awestruck, slack-jawed for the second time that day. "Tough chance," Piper muttered behind her. Paige slowly walked into the room where Michael worked, engrossed in the picture he was creating with deft movements of the charcoal in his hand. "And he's using your art materials to do this," Piper whispered behind her. 

She was standing at the center of a madman's lair. Portraits were posted at every imaginable free space in the three walls. The sketches were taped carefully, methodically on the walls. But what really stung was that in each and every work, only one girl was represented. Maria was portrayed sleeping, smiling, laughing, playing, frowning, yelling, crying, reading. There were sketches of an eye, a hand, a foot, a wisp of hair. There were drawings of a little scruffy girl latching on to a scarfed Dalmatian. Paige had no doubt who it was. 

"Michael," she called him out of his preoccupation. 

He turned around with the charcoal in his hand, his eyes rimmed heavily with tiredness. "You're back so soon. Oh yeah, magic huh?" 

Paige bit her lip. He found out. Makes sense. They were in the attic. "Busy day, huh?" 

As if it were only then that he was jarred to his senses, he gazed at the drawings taped to the walls. "I got her killed a year ago," he stated, as if they didn't know the events. 

"Do you love me, Michael?" He didn't answer, merely stood there straight, framed by the faces of another girl. "Well prepare to love me even more," she said with false brightness. "I'm about to show you something you'll adore me for." 

~~ 

Both Gunn and Wesley were lassoed into dancing with two new vampires. A witch tapped Angel on the shoulder but he politely declined. When the woman left disappointed, Maria ragged on Angel again. 

"Oh what are you afraid of?" She laughed. 

He looked at her appalled. "Afraid? I'm not afraid of anything. Have you forgotten that I've lived hundreds of years, killing innocent people and after getting cursed with a soul saving them? That I'm a vampire who braved the scariest creatures?" 

"That doesn't mean you're not afraid of the dance floor, O fearsome creature of the shadows." 

Angel narrowed his eyes and grabbed her hand. "Prepare to be amazed," he warned. Maria broke into a grin. He stood up and pulled her into his arms, then held her close and swayed towards the center of the dance floor. Maria laughed out loud at the expression on his face. "I told you I'm a regular Valentino," he told her with a wink. 

"My heart is melting!" she parried, still chuckling. 

Angel raised their joined hands. Maria looked at him askance. "Hold your breath," he warned. And then he twirled her. Maria's giggled escaped even with the huge amount of effort she exerted to keep the bubbles inside her. She was whirling faster and faster with every full circle. "Now who's the Dance Meister?!" 

"Aaaaaaahhhh!" she screamed, her hair whipping against her cheeks, her free arm thrown in the air. 

"Who's the Dance Meister?!" he repeated, spinning her faster. 

Maria was laughing so hard and twirling so fast she was gasping for air. "Fine, fine!" she yelled. "I fold. You are! You are!" 

"I'm what?" he prodded, chuckling, enjoying the sight of her so carefree. 

"You're the Dance Meister of the Night Without the Stars, Angel!" 

He slowed down and finally stopped. Dazed, Maria held onto him, her arms around his neck. Angel looked down at her beaming up at him. Applause reverberated in the club, and it dawned on him what an outrageous sight they must have been in the middle of the crowded dance floor. His gaze searched for Gunn and Wesley. To his utter humiliation, they were together with the rest of their audience, hooting and clapping. 

"Man, that was amazing!" Gunn clapped him on the back. "But you shouldn't say things like Dance Meister. You are old, man. Too old for that." 

Angel's face contorted. He had to get out of here, away from the attention. But Maria was still hanging on to him, still without stable land legs. "She's really tired now. I'm bringing Maria back to her place," he told them. Angel avoided Wesley's knowing half-smile. "You two just get a cab or something." 

He tried helping her walk, but she kept stumbling on her feet. "You were great, Angel. Why do you have to escape?" 

"Because you're worse than drunk," he muttered. 

"Oh well," she sighed, still stumbling and laughing. "I had a great time." 

"I did too." When Maria almost bumped on the stairs, he sighed and took her up in his arms. He had to get out of the limelight. Angel put Maria on the passenger seat and snapped on her seatbelt. 

He straightened and walked to the driver's side. The moment he opened the door, he distinctly heard that voice. "I see you've found another blonde cheerleader, Angel," she taunted. "Your preferences still hasn't changed." 

To the empty night air, he bit out, "It's not like that, Darla. So stay away from her." 

"I hope she can protect herself like the Slayer could," the voice said, drifting away. 

Angel climbed into the driver seat and smiled at Maria. "Time to go home." 


	6. Pure 6

**Part 6**   


"Ugh! Why is there nothing good on?" Cordelia pushed the power button in frustration. She had been channel surfing for a good ten minutes, but she couldn't settle on any television show. And it was primetime! It wasn't the tv's fault though. It was her fault that Cordelia couldn't focus enough to actually find something to watch. 

Ever since that girl arrived, those three idiots have been clucking like mother hens. This is so the reason why she preferred being the only girl in the team. And now Angel had to go run her over and tie the four of them to her forever. 

She wondered if the girl had any family. They ran a missing persons search on her picture a year ago (well actually she did) and nothing turned up. There was a lead back there somewhere. She got a near miss. There was a girl who looked really similar to her in Roswell. But when she called the sheriff's office, a Deputy James Valenti refuted her theory. The picture, according to him, was of a local young woman who had married her high school boyfriend and is now living happily in Tucson. 

The soft knock on the door brought her back to the present. Grabbing her robe, she tied it at the waist and rose to peek on the peephole of her door. "What the—" Outside her door, alone, stood Wolfram and Hart's gorgeous but wholly evil Lilah Morgan. 

She turned the knob but made sure the chain remained in place. "What are you doing here?" she demanded from the small space. 

Lilah arched her eyebrow at the protective barrier. "Isn't this a little overreacting?" 

"Oh no no no," Cordelia said. "The door stays until I know you're harmless." 

"I didn't bring anyone with me," the older woman informed her, exasperated. 

"Then why are you here? You don't have any business with me." 

"Actually I do. I need your help." 

Cordelia shook her head. "I can't deal with you. Business is subject to the team's approval, and I'm sure they won't grant it. You have your own people." 

Lilah smiled. "But this time I need your help specifically. And you can't tell Angel." 

"Okay that's it. Goodbye." She started closing the door, but Lilah's slim foot, encased in expensive Italian leather, slipped easily to prevent it. "Just go." 

"It's about a certain missing girl that you're holding," Lilah said carefully. "A Maria De Luca." 

"De Luca." She never knew that was her last name. 

"Blonde. Green eyes. I know you know her, Ms Chase." Lilah took several pictures from her folder and handed them to Cordelia through the opening. 

They were all taken tonight. She had to give it to those guys they hired. They did a quick and efficient job. One was of her singing, and the other while she was talking animatedly with Gunn. In one, the girl was with all of them. The last one was the irritating one. Cordelia didn't know that Maria and Angel danced like loonies after she left. "Obviously I can't deny that I know her then," she said, careful not to betray anything from the lovely hawklike eyes. "What do you want with her? She the missing daughter of one of your rich but very depraved clients?" Like Wesley's girlfriend… That would suck though. The guys might feel the need to save her from her own family. That equals having her stay with them longer. 

"Don't lie. I know you're an actress, but you shouldn't quit your day job. We know why you took her. We have been looking for her a year. Now I'm willing to strike a deal with you. Tell me where and when to get her, and we'll all forget your kidnapping." 

"What are you talking about? You're crazy! We didn't kidnap her. And why am I even talking to you? I don't know where you got all this. So go away!" Cordelia kicked Lilah's foot away and pushed the door close, but Lilah was leaning heavily against it. 

"Don't make me get nasty with you," the lawyer warned. 

"You don't even have to try!" Cordelia grunted. 

~~ 

Maria had long fallen asleep on the passenger side of the car. Angel glanced at her and fixed the rearview mirror. He was going to drop her off at her place and then come back for Gunn and Wesley. And then they would do the usual rounds, keeping the city safe and vampire-free. 

About a block from the apartment, his cellphone rang. Wesley was probably getting tired of watching Gunn's moves on the dance floor. He prepared himself to hear his now boss's whining. "I'll be there soon," he said, not bothering to look at the number. No one called this number except for the team. 

"Don't use her against me," came the strange raspy voice. "Make use of that soul you value so much. Face me, Angel. Don't put her in the middle of this." 

"What? Who's this?" he demanded. His brows furrowed. "I think you got the wrong number, man." 

"I already know you've got her, Angel. And I swear if you hurt her to get to me, I'm using all my resources against you. You haven't seen anything yet." 

"What the hell…" Angel took the phone off his ear and glanced down at the number. His face cleared. "Lindsey," he said. 

"What are your terms?" 

"Terms for what! What are you talking about?" He was genuinely puzzled. They haven't seen or talked to each other for a few months now. 

"I'm dropping over your office. I'll come to you. Just prepare your list of demands, Angel. I'll give you anything within reason." 

Angel shook his head. So confused that he parked the car. "Lindsey, what are you blabbering on about?" 

"Tomorrow night. I'll meet you. And tell Maria that I'm coming." 

Angel blinked at the street ten minutes after Lindsey disconnected, still piecing together the panicked conversation and Lindsey's calm pretense. He looked beside him at the sleeping girl, blinking, still with no idea beyond that Lindsey McDonald was uncharacteristically frantic to get his hands on her. 

"Well I'm not letting him get to you," he said softly. 

The next night, as Maria prepared for her performance, she felt a distinct hum in the air. It was like the very atmosphere was throbbing with an indefinable energy. She couldn't explain it. She couldn't remember anything like it before. 

She was alone that night. All four members of Angel Investigations were out on some premonition that Cordelia had. Maria called them "flashes" but they thought it was a weird term. Angel had wanted Gunn to stay behind, but Maria insisted that she wouldn't leave the club alone. She was safe in the Sanctuary. 

There was a brisk knock on the door. "Come in," she called out cheerfully, knowing who was out there. 

Lorne's coarse green face popped in. With a bright smile he told her, "You're up next, Maria." 

"Thanks. I'll be right there." Before the demon left, she asked, "Do you feel it?" Lorne could feel auras and guide people to their destiny. Maybe he sensed this odd feeling too. 

"What?" 

"Everything," she said. She tried to explain, "It's like the entire world around me is getting ready for something, like there's a presence. Some sort of—" 

"Some… ambience?" 

"No. Not that stable. It's like… vibes." 

"Vibes." 

"Yeah. That's it! Vibes. I've been feeling it all night." 

"Really. Well that's interesting. Go and perform and I'll read your aura. Maybe I'll figure it out." 

Maria nodded and grabbed her guitar. 

~~ 

Leo orbed Michael into the club. He had been getting the worst glares from the three sisters so he volunteered to be the younger man's transportation there. Paige, Phoebe and Piper would wait in their hotel to give Michael the chance to deal with the situation on his own. Michael had to have the freedom to act as he wanted. Piper doubted that having Paige around would be a good idea. 

"I'll go and talk to the owner. He'll help you," Leo assured Michael. The whitelighter had the younger man follow him to the bar, where Lorne was talking to someone they couldn't quite see. 

"I've got it!" the demon said excitedly. "These… vibrations—" 

"Vibes," the girl on the other side corrected. 

Michael stiffened. He swore he would recognize that voice anywhere. Even after a year, he still remembered. After all, even without hearing her during the day, she sang to him in his dreams. 

"Well, from your aura I'm seeing that your destiny will take a sudden twist." 

"For the better?" the eager voice asked. 

He resisted the urge to speak up at that moment. Leo had warned him not to act too impulsively. They were giving him free rein, but he needed to consider Maria before everything else. 

"Let's just say that true love awaits. Now if you would excuse me, I feel someone I owe big hounding behind me." Lorne turned in his chair and greeted Leo. "And who's your companion?" 

"Glad to see you haven't lost it yet. This is Michael, and he needs your help." 

Instead of looking at Lorne, Michael watched Maria's reaction closely. When Lorne moved, he revealed the girl he had long thought dead. When Paige came to him to share the news, he had been surprised—shell-shocked. He had never thought it would be possible. He didn't even dare to pray, because he _saw_ her die. It took Leo Wyatt to convince him. Who would doubt an angel? When the man sat beside him and explained the entire thing, Michael couldn't even bear to be angry. He just sat there, screwed his eyes tightly shut and buried his head in his palms. His breathing was rasped between his teeth. 

When he didn't move for he didn't know how long, Paige spoke again. "We're going back there, Michael. You're going to see her. I know that that's what's right, even if it's not my first choice if you ask me. I don't want you by default. If you need time to prepare—" 

"Another year?" 

"If you need it," Paige offered quickly. 

"You're crazy if you think I'm staying here another hour," Michael bit out. 

"Michael, I'm just thinking of you. You're not ready. An hour ago you thought she was dead! You need to adjust first," she argued. 

He shook his head, looking directly at the young woman who helped him so much, but whose every action hadn't eased him into the sort of comfortable trust and affection he had with Maria. "I've had a year to adjust to her being gone and that never happened. What makes you think another day will help me accept she's alive. In here," his finger dug into his temple almost painfully, "I never accepted she died." 

"Michael." 

"I don't need an hour, Paige. I don't even need a minute. I'm getting my check from Piper and I'm leaving right now." 

"You don't need to do that. I can get you there within seconds," Leo offered. "But you'll need to talk to the girls first." 

And that was when it was decided that Michael was going to Lorne without the Charmed Ones along. So here he was, standing not five feet away from Maria, and even if he insisted that in the back of his mind, he had always believed that she was alive, he was possessed with the urge to go to her and grab her in his arms. 

She smiled at Leo and him. And it was a smile that really hid nothing. There was no trace that she remembered him. "Hi!" she greeted. 

Michael broke into a smile. She spoke directly to him. And he could tell that Maria might not exactly know everything that happened between them in the past, but she still had the exact same taste in men. Her green eyes were devouring him shamelessly. "I'm Michael," he said, extending his hand. 

"I heard," she tossed back at him. "My name's Maria." 

"Lovely name," Leo interjected. Michael would get carried away if he didn't set things up now and vanish. Michael could do whatever he wanted when Leo left. "Lorne, I need you to give Michael a job." 

"Whoa!" the green demon said. "Abrupt, aren't we? Do you have any experience?" 

Michael swallowed. A job interview. Obviously. He couldn't fail this. It was his only chance to be around Maria enough to get her to remember. "Bartending P3. You can call the owner for confirmation. Her name's P—" 

"Piper Halliwell. Yup! Know her. And I won't need confirmation since you're with the husband. Okay, one more thing. I can't hire anyone without the test." 

Test!? They never said anything about a test. What if he failed? He didn't study. And then he felt a featherlight touch on his arm. He almost shivered when he saw that it was Maria's hand on his skin. "Don't worry. He just needs to see your aura, to find out if you're bad or good." 

"And what would that entail?" he asked softly. He couldn't believe that after hammering in his mind that he would never see her again, he was actually carrying on a conversation with Maria De Luca. 

"You'll have to sing for him." 

What?! No way! "All right." He was going to be hired and stay around Maria for as long as he was able, whatever he had to do. "You're not judging by voice or tone or anything like that right?" 

Lorne shook his head. "I just have to see the waves." 

Maria smiled at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement. A gorgeous new guy the same night that Lorne informed her that her destiny was turning, and he used the words 'true love'! This Michael person was way too hot to lose. She picked up her guitar. "I'll even accompany you." 

The two of them started towards the stage. Michael took her hand and almost bawled at the contact. He couldn't get over the fact that he was holding her again. "Maria." 

"Yeah." She didn't know why he suddenly grabbed her hand, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. 

"I'm helping you up the steps." 

"Oh." 

She climbed them and sat down on the chair. Michael took the microphone and stood there. When she strummed the opening notes and Michael's voice started to flow, husky because he never used to sing, Maria felt the vibes that have been around her all night thicken until they almost strangled her in the most erotic and tantalizing way. She glanced up at him and she could see his nostrils flaring, like he felt the change in the air too. 

"I could stay awake just to hear you breathing / Watch you smile while you are sleeping / While you're far away and dreaming." 

Her heart leapt to her throat the moment his voice brushed the tips of her ears, and his words resounded in her brain like a whisper of memory. 

"I could spend my life in this sweet surrender / I could stay lost in this moment forever." 

Maria glanced up from her guitar and to her surprise, she saw him looking directly at her now. She bit her lip and looked around the crowd for Lorne. When she finally caught sight of him, he was reading them with the most serious expression she had ever seen him wear. 

"I don't wanna close my eyes / I don't wanna fall asleep / 'Cause I'd miss you, babe / And I don't wanna miss a thing." 

At that moment, even though she had seen this man only tonight, she felt this viselike grip in her heart that was so painful tears rose in her eyes. He had so much hurt inside him that directly translated to those words. 

"'Cause even when I dream of you / The sweetest dream will never do / I'd still miss you, babe / And I don't wanna miss a thing." 

He helped her down when they finished the performance. She couldn't wait to get to Lorne and find out what he saw. Maria smiled at Michael before racing off. The demon who had since become her friend was shaking his head with a small smile. He leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Looks like your destiny found you tonight." 

Maria squealed in happiness and hugged him before walking off to find the new bartender. Lorne turned to Leo, who seemed thoughtful. The demon clucked his tongue at the angel. "Now your aura is going wacko, my heavenly friend," he informed him. "You knew this would happen." 

"Just righting past wrongs. Now I'll leave the rest to them and I'm going home to see to my charges, one of whom is bound to be brokenhearted. Tell him he can still call on us if things don't work out the way he planned." 

"I'm thinking those two would do well on their own. Of course I wouldn't know how to explain this to Angel." 

Leo nodded. "Tell the vampire with a soul not to question it too much. And just to keep him on his toes, tell him we're all watching his every move." Leo grinned and vanished in swirling blue lights.   



	7. Pure 7

**Part 7**

It seemed like they have been driving aimlessly all their lives. Isabel released her breath harshly and rested her head on the window. She glanced at the rearview mirror and saw her brother and Liz giggling like teenagers, completely apart from the reality of their world. When you were in this situation, you can't giggle that innocently unless you didn't understand. And those two were two smart not to actually comprehend what's going on, especially when it involved your best friends. 

"You know you should really consider it, Max." 

Max looked up from his fiance to his sister. "We all talked about this, Isabel. Michael made his choice." 

"We don't know if he did!" Isabel exploded. "The two of them left in the middle of the night and we never heard from them again. We can't just suppose that they chose not to return." 

Kyle, on the steering wheel, spoke. "It's been a year, Evans. I for one don't care if Guerin decided to skip on all of you, but I owe it to Mrs. De Luca to find her daughter." 

Liz bit her bottom lip. "Max, I know that all six of us agreed that if there came the time that we can't find someone, and we think there's danger, it's best for the group to run. And I know that's where you based your decision a year ago. But I miss Maria." 

Leave it to Liz Parker to decide to come looking for her best friend the moment she's lonely. Did everything have to be about her? Isabel shrugged off the nasty thought. Being hemmed in with only these three around her was turning her into a huge bitch. 

Max nodded his head. "I suppose it's time." 

Kyle glanced at Isabel and smiled. Ever since Michael and Maria left, Isabel had been bugging the rest of them to look for the two. But since they all agreed on leaving for the safety of the rest, Kyle didn't put up much of an argument. He had thought they would be back in a week to look for them again. But days turned to months and they roamed farther and farther from California. Now, a year later, they were back. And it was time he looked for the girl who was about to become his sister soon. 

~~ 

Michael was sitting at the bar. And even before Maria tapped him on the shoulder, he had known that it was she who came bouncing back. He turned around and grinned at her. She was still as beautiful as the last day he saw her. 

"Lying close to you / Feeling your heart beating / And I'm wond'rin' if it's me you're seeing / Then I kiss your eyes and thank God we're together / And I just wanna stay with you / In this moment forever, forever and ever…" Maria grinned up at the handsome young man while crooning teasingly. "That was such a perfect choice! And you sang so wonderfully, Michael. It's like you're actually in that much love. Was that dedicated to anyone?" 

"Yeah." 

"Girlfriend huh." 

Michael shook his head. "I'm unattached. But you can change that." 

Maria's grin faded when she saw how little smile and joke there was in his lips. "Are you serious?" 

"Never been more serious." 

"We just met." 

"Does that really matter?" he asked, raising his brows. 

"Well… I guess it doesn't." She smiled. "One condition though." 

Michael rolled his eyes. Who else but Maria would have to squeeze a condition out of a possible love at first sight candidate? Leave it to her to actually delay love when it was thundering in her ears at that very moment. "Anything." 

She giggled. Now this was bad. "I need you to sing that last part again." 

"Hell, no! You won't get me to sing in front of that audience ever again." 

Maria moved closer to him and leaned down, giving him an ample view of treasures he wouldn't want to miss. "Who says it's for them?" she whispered. 

He smiled slowly. Michael opened his legs to get her a little bit closer. Bending close so that his eyes were at level with hers, and his lips only far enough so that only she could hear, he sang softly, with the quiet coarseness in his voice that was still as gruff as it was earlier. "I don't wanna miss one smile / I don't wanna miss one kiss / Well, I just wanna be with you / Right here with you, just like this—" 

As he sang, Maria's focus drifted down to the moving lips. They were so full and moist. 

"I just wanna hold you close to / I feel your heart close to mine / And stay here in this moment / For all the—" 

Maria snagged the moving mouth with her own hungry one. She swallowed the last words and touched her tongue to his lower lip. Although surprised, Michael quickly recovered and delved his tongue deep into her giving mouth, sharing a first kiss after what seemed like a lifetime. 

When Maria pulled away finally, still looking at him with wonder, she took a deep breath. "That was to calm me down," she said teasingly. "Aerosmith makes me nervous." 

Michael licked her taste from his lips and said, "I'd better study all their albums." 

She laughed softly. "Walk me home tonight?" 

He nodded, and Maria turned to wash off her makeup and allow Lorne to talk to his newest employee. As she walked away, Maria felt burning red heat on her cheeks. She couldn't believe the way she acted. But with the guy, it seemed almost like she was possessed, that there was a part of her that was trying to surface to have wild, passionate love with him. She remembered what Lorne called him tonight. Destiny. Their auras told him that. Maybe there was such a thing as soulmates after all. 

~~ 

"I've seen those two," Leo began. "And I cannot for my long life figure out any reason why you didn't want Michael to find out that the girl was alive." 

It was not a good idea to question The Powers That Be. But Leo had always been a pain in their collective butts, questioning their decisions and tactics and such. This was just one ordinary day for the Charmed Ones' whitelighter. 

"Look it's too late anyway," he said. "They're meant to be. Even the alien slash demon saw that. I need to know why you never wanted them to find each other again." 

One of the Elders removed his pristine white hood and looked directly at the irritated angel. "We suggest you use your magic dust to make them forget that they saw each other again." 

"What are you talking about?" Leo demanded. "Tearing those two apart is as much a crime as not saving an innocent—it's even worse than getting someone to go after an innocent!" Seeing the shift in the faces of the Elders, Leo stumbled backwards and said, horrified, "You did it, didn't you? You were the ones who sent the demon after Maria De Luca a year ago!" 

"No!" one of the Elders denied firmly. "That was outside our manipulation." 

"But if that had not happened, we were prepared to send someone to make sure that Maria De Luca and Michael Guerin were separated," another one admitted. That was the thing about The Powers That Be. Since they were supposed to work for good, they couldn't lie when directly confronted. "We're just thankful that we didn't have to." 

"You're thankful that an innocent man was beaten almost to death and an innocent woman was run over by an overspeeding vampire," Leo said, more as a statement than a question. 

"Elders have to do what Elders have to do," another shrugged. "Besides, you don't know the whole story. We had good reason." 

"Then why don't you enlighten me," Leo told them pointedly. 

"It all boils down to an ancient prophecy that we've connected to those two." 

Leo let out another breath. "A prophecy." Everything is prophesized that there's almost no point making choices! 

"Gold and black, earth and sky. When they come together, they will produce a child who will be the most powerful force the universe has seen. The female will have gold for her voice and her hair. And the visitor from the sky will be shrouded in darkness all his life until she shines her light into his world." 

"That makes no sense," Leo said. "Maria De Luca is a blonde singer, but so are thousands others. But Michael Guerin, although he enjoys black, is no angel." 

"We're not the only ones who can come from the sky, Leo." His forehead creased. "Michael Guerin is a visitor from the sky because he was in the UFO that crashed in Roswell half a century ago." 

Leo sputtered. "Alien?" 

The Elder closest to him nodded solemnly. "He was an alien soldier. And his child with this girl has been written about. We can't let them make the prophecy come true. They must be as far away from the other as possible. We can't risk another powerful child. Phoebe's and Cole's, should they have one, will be a force to reckon with already." 

"How do you even know that Maria and Michael's child won't fight in the side of good?" 

"The child will be between two worlds." 

"Because its father is alien?" Leo asked, trying to clarify the jumbled information. 

"No. Maybe. The soldier that he was in his home planet fought and killed for his kingdom, noble but still innocents died. But the child being caught between good and evil has more to do with his upbringing." 

"Those two kids look like nice people in love." 

"It has to do with the fact that it will be raised by evil. We're guessing Wolfram & Hart. It may be in its nature to be good, because of its parents. But the ruthless alien soldier blood, combined with the lessons it will learn in that firm working for the dark side may be too much to control."


	8. Pure 8

**Part 8**

"So what is this?" Maria tentatively asked as they walked home. Angel was going to fry her for not waiting around for the team. But right at that moment, no matter how wonderful he was, his reaction paled in comparison to what she felt the moment this new man appeared in the club. She had never found herself in this position before, of is she had, the memory of how to handle an attraction was lost just like all others. 

"What's what?" Michael inquired softly. He still had not gotten over the rapt awe overwhelming him now that he was seeing her again in waking. 

Maria smiled with a tinge of anxiety. "This," she motioned with her hand. "What we have. I mean, there's something about you that—" 

"There's something about you too," he quickly supplied. 

She shook her head, laughing a bit. "I guess there's no point actually wording something like this." 

Michael nodded. "Not when we already know exactly what's going on." He wrapped his arm over her shoulders. "It's a bit chilly." 

Maria didn't protest, but continued walking while he held her close. "Are you planning on staying around?" 

"No question about it." 

"Great." 

Michael breathed deeply. He had been trying to fight all the emotions inside him so he wouldn't freak her out. But hearing the insecurity in her voice when she asked, he just had to pull her to him and press his lips on her hair. He smelled her hair, and it was so familiar he blinked rapidly to will away the tears that rose so suddenly. "You won't be getting rid of me anytime soon," he warned lightly. 

She tensed in his arms, and he immediately released her to apologize. She would no doubt be afraid of a guy who moved this fast, even though it was apparent that she was as drawn to him today as she was in their sophomore year, when they both vibrated at the same level. "Michael," she said, and it was full of fear not of him but of something out there. 

It was instinct that made him push her to his back as he turned around and faced whatever the source of her terror was. In front of him were a half dozen men wielding guns and a tall brunette behind them. "Hand her over and you won't get hurt," she said. 

"Who are you?" he spat out. No one was taking Maria away just when he found her again. 

The men started moving to circle them. Michael knew he had to think fast before they completely surrounded them. "I need you to run when I say so. I'll keep them busy." 

Maria grabbed his wrists tightly, effectively keeping him from using his powers. "No. I won't leave you." 

He jerked his hand away from Maria and raised it to throw off two of the approaching figures. And then he grabbed Maria and pushed her towards the opposite direction. She stumbled away from the group, and she looked back at him. "Run!" he yelled at her, keeping his eyes on the five remaining people. When he glanced back to check if she had escaped, he saw her shaking her head and returning to him. "No, Maria. Run!" But her eyes were almost glazed over, and he had first thought that it was terror. Her next words shot that theory down. 

She was almost hyperventilating, but she bravely made her way back to him. "No, Michael! I won't leave you again!" 

_Not now._ There would have been nothing better than for her to remember him, but at this moment, when her life was in danger, he preferred that she only thought of him as a stranger she can leave to these people. But knowing Maria, even if she didn't yet remember him, she would not leave him to die. "Maria, get away now!" Horror filled him when one of their attackers jumped at her and grabbed her, rolling with Maria on the sidewalk. "Let her go! Bastard!" he screamed. He raised his hand to blast him off, but he was afraid of hitting her. 

"Now, now, we can't have you doing that again," he heard the woman's whisper brush on his nape. His sight went hot white as he crumpled to the ground. "Take her now!" Lilah commanded, and the man pulled a scratching and biting Maria towards the building. 

Lilah's eyebrow arched at the sound of screeching wheels and overused engine. She expected to see Angel and his goody gang come running after Cordelia informed them that she was looking for Maria. Instead, four young men and women jumped out of a pathetic looking van with a Roswell sticker at the back. 

The darker-haired boy glanced down at the unconscious young man at her feet. "Step away from him," he ordered. 

Lilah's beautiful lips glistened as they moved. "I have no business with him. He's all yours," she said, kicking Michael with the sharp toe of her shoe. 

Isabel ran forward and fell on her knees beside Michael's prone form. Kyle frantically searched the street for another body, and met Liz's eyes. "Where is she?" Liz voiced out the question they were both asking. 

"Max!" 

All four of them now knelt beside Michael, waiting for Max to finish healing him. "It's just a bump on the head," he assured them. "He'll be fine." 

A few seconds later, Michael groaned loudly and opened his eyes, not even surprised to see his friends there. "Thanks, Iz." 

Isabel smiled and nodded. Without anyone else's knowledge, she had dreamwalked Michael a week ago and got the information that he was still in California. Maintaining contact with him, she was able to lead the others to his location. But apart from where he was, Isabel was not able to find out anything about him. 

"Michael," Max said quietly. The situation rushed back to Michael, and he sat up abruptly. He glanced at Max, who was fighting hard to keep his emotions in check. "I saw. I felt what you were feeling this last year you were away. Michael, how did she die?" 

Liz cried out at Max's words. "What happened to Maria? Where is she, Michael?" she demanded. "You promised you'd take care of her. How could you let her die?" 

Michael shook his head. Isabel was now gasping, and Kyle held Liz tightly to calm her. "She's not dead. But we have to save her." 

"How?" Max asked, being the only one with the necessary control now. "What happened Michael?" 

"They took her." 

"Who?" Kyle asked. 

Michael shook his head. "I don't know." 

Liz bit her knuckles. "Well how do we save her if you don't even know that, Michael?" 

At first, Michael seemed lost until he remembered one thing, one last hope. He was about to call out for Leo when three stunning brunettes appeared out of thin air. Kyle's eyes almost popped out of his head. Michael released a breath in relief. "Please. I need your help now." His voice cracked with emotion. 

Paige stepped forward and drew Michael towards her to embrace him. "It's okay, baby." 

Kyle stiffened. What the hell was Michael up to? The woman in front of him extended her hand. "We'll do everything in our power to recover Maria." 

"How—how did you know?" Isabel asked. 

"My sister Phoebe," she pointed to another woman, "saw everything. My name is Piper. Michael lived with us this last year. And that is Paige, Michael's ex-girlfriend." 

The four Roswellians were more than confused. Michael assured them a full explanation the moment that this was all over. "But not now," he told them. "I can't spare the time. I didn't find the love of my life again only to lose her the same night." 

"Hey! Soften up the love of your life bit," Paige requested. "Kinda stings still." 

Michael nodded distractedly. If anyone can help find Maria, the Charmed Ones could do it. 

~~ 


	9. Pure 9

**Part 9**

Lindsey stretched his neck and removed his coat. He was pissed. Angel first jumps to the conclusion that everything he was was pure evil. He wouldn't even believe the fact that Lindsey was sincerely concerned about someone. Somehow, the paranoid vampire warped Lindsey's almost insane pleading for his niece's life into some sort of creepy demand for a sacrificial lamb. Talk about deranged. 

In the end, Lindsey agreed to meet Angel over at Lorne's to discuss what exactly it was that Lindsey needed. Only when he arrived there, he was informed that Maria had already gone with the newly hired bartender. At that Lindsey had to force out information from Lorne. He had to know what kind of man he let his niece go off with. He was only a little pacified when informed that this Michael Guerin was honorable. Lindsey figured the moment he recovered his niece, he would have to have a talk with her. She might turn out to be a bit like Amy—sweet but a bit too flighty. He won't let Maria throw her entire life away out of some passionate fling with a… a… bartender, for heaven's sake! A bartender was not good enough for someone like Maria. 

Lindsey was even more pissed when he heard a sobbing Cordelia tell Angel that she had a vision of Maria being abducted. He slammed out of the bar and went to Wolfram & Hart at once. He needed all his resources to track down his niece. 

"Welcome back. I was beginning to wonder where you went," he heard Lilah say. He turned around to tell her that he was not in the mood to play games with her when he saw his niece gagged and tied down to a chair in his office. "Surprise! I found her for you," Lilah announced. 

Lindsey cursed at his office mate and dropped down in front of Maria. He unbound her hands and feet and removed the gag from her mouth. Maria collapsed into a coughing fit and Lindsey took her in his arms. 

"What do you think you're doing treating her like this?" he demanded. 

"She was trying to escape and get back to that filthy boy. I had to keep her here or she'll ruin the surprise." 

Running his hand over her back to stop the coughing, Lindsey sighed. "Fine. Thank you, Lilah, for finding her. Now will you leave me alone with her?" 

Lilah shrugged. "Now you owe one." She left the room with a smug grin on her face. 

"Are you okay?" Lindsey asked Maria. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears from her face. 

"It's so hard to visit you," she gasped out. "Uncle Lindsey, you have to save Michael! I think that freak woman killed him!" 

The room was suddenly lit with brilliant blue balls of light. Maria watched in amazement as the light formed into several human forms. Lindsey merely looked pissed, but seeing as he worked in a law firm from hell, he never got surprised at anything anymore. "This is a private office," he said. 

The robed men nodded. "We're aware of this. Hand the girl over to us and we will not bother you again." 

"Did I suddenly become some sort of prize here?" Maria exclaimed in disbelief. "I am a small town waitress!" 

Lindsey's brows furrowed and out of the blue said, "That's something else I have to talk to Amy about. You don't need to work. But does she accept my offers? No." 

"Focus, Uncle. Big white robed hocus pocus wanting to take your only niece?" 

"Who are you?" 

One of the robed men stepped forward. "We're whitelighters. And we've been tasked to retrieve the girl right now." 

Lindsey raised his hands, as if one organic and one artificial hand would ward them off. "You're not taking her, and this is my office. Get out before I call security." 

"I fight the urge to laugh," one of the whitelighters commented. 

"Hilarity is unbefitting angels," another agreed. 

"That's true. He should stop cracking the jokes." 

~~ 

Michael released his hold on Paige after she orbed him to Wolfram & Hart. "Thanks." 

"No problem," she replied. "All for old time's sake. But remember, you owe me a kiss later." 

Michael nodded. "And tell Phoebe thanks for helping Liz figure out what the flashes meant. Without the two of them, we wouldn't have known Maria's here." 

Paige smiled. "I don't know. I think you would have eventually felt where to go. You and her… you're connected. I know that now. I just wish that I could find someone I can bond with the way you and Maria seem to be bonded. There's really something to say about being destined, I guess." 

"If you only knew." 

"Okay. Go. Get her." 

Michael quietly crept through the corridors, keeping as stealthy as possible. He crept up the stairs and entered doors. He took a turn and bumped into a black-clothed figure. Michael raised his hand to the man's throat, prepared to send a blast of energy if needed. 

"Michael Guerin?" the man inquired. 

"Who's asking?" 

"My name is Angel. Lorne's told me about you. Don't worry about me. I'm here to save Maria too." 

"So what's she to you?" Michael asked as he followed Angel. He seemed to know where he was going. 

"I've been protecting her for a year now. She lives close to my place. I ran her over." 

Flashes of that night clicked in his mind, and with a growl, Michael grabbed Angel by his collar and slammed him against the wall. Angel's face morphed into his vampiric appearance, and Michael released him with a yell. "What the hell are you?" 

"No time for that, junior. Now I'm storming into that room, whether you're with me or not." 

Clenching his jaw, Michael gave a curt nod, and Angel kicked the door open. 

"That was it?" Michael asked, still bristling at being called junior. "The door didn't even budge." 

"Lindsey probably got it kick-proof already," the vampire excused himself. 

"Now look at this." Michael raised his hand and concentrated on blowing up the door. His hand glowed and the door remained fast. "The thing is metal!" He didn't look at Angel. He didn't enjoy seeing people laugh at him. He approached the door and laid his hand where the look should be. It clicked, and the door swung open easily. 

Maria looked up at the new arrivals. Both men were special to her. But there hadn't been any doubt whom she would go to. She jumped up and ran towards Michael, bypassing the whitelighters. 

Angel approached Lindsey. "So she really is your niece." 

"The only pure thing in my life," the lawyer answered easily. 

"Judging from the way the boy is holding her," he pointed to how Michael's hands were running familiarly over Maria's body, "she's not that pure anymore." 

Lindsey glared at the vampire's sense of humor. The door opened again to admit the Charmed Ones, their whitelighter, Angel's team, and the pod squad, filling Lindsey's office. 

Maria approached Cordelia. "Hey Cordy. Take care of our guy okay?" 

Cordelia smiles and hugs her tightly. "We'll miss you." They pulled Gunn and Wesley into the embrace. 

The whitelighters cleared their respective throats. The scene was rapidly turning into some sort of goodbye when they were more things left unsolved. "Leo, you know what to do." 

Leo walked over to Michael, draws out his pouch of magic dust, and then shook his head. "I can't do it." He faces the group and tells them, "Michael and Maria can't be together. That's why the Elders didn't want them reunited. But I can't use my powers to make them forget each other again. I won't do that." 

Michael stalked over to where Maria was, and drew her protectively in his arms. Max asked firmly, "Why? What did they ever do?" 

"It's not what they did," Leo explained, "but what they would do in the future. There's a prophecy." 

Wesley groaned. "Not again!" He would most likely be required to scour through the ancient texts for this prophecy. 

"There would be born a child, the most powerful force the universe has ever seen. And the Elders believe that it's Michael's and Maria's." 

"Whoa!" Maria glanced at her uncle, who was even now glowering. "We're not planning to have a kid anytime soon." 

One of the whitelighters at the back finally spoke up again. "Doesn't matter. You will have a child. It's written. We can't let that happen." 

Leo glanced at Paige and nodded. The rest could take care of themselves. The whitelighters wouldn't hurt innocents. Leo took Michael's hand and Paige grabbed Maria. Together, they orbed them to another part of California. 

When they reappeared, Maria found shelter in Michael's arms again. "Your friends will be brought to you shortly," Paige said. She orbed out to try and get the others. 

"What's happening?" Maria asked, trembling. "We didn't ask for any of this!" 

"I'm sorry for hiding the truth from you," Leo said. "I didn't know everything. I do know that this has to do with past lives. You can't be together because of who you were." 

"How can our baby be that powerful? I mean, Michael's an alien soldier. Fine! But I'm just a human girl. I'm not part of all that hoopla! Michael and Isabel were engaged back then. Isabel's a princess. Maybe that's the baby you should all be freaked out about." 

Leo took Maria's cold hand in his. "Calm down. Maria, you're not just any human girl." 

"What?" It was Michael who asked now. Any information that would help him protect her better was welcome. 

"I don't know exactly who you were," Leo said. "But I can unlock your memories enough to help you." 

Maria looked up at Michael and then back at Leo. She nodded. "I want to know everything." If she and Michael were going to be successful building a life, she might as well know what's going on. 

Leo placed his hand on her temple and focused his mind on freeing boxed memories. It took a long time. Michael squeezed Maria's hand, and he felt every harrowing moment. She was hurting, but she needed this. They didn't notice how much time passed until Leo released his hold on Maria. 

Memories were now slowly flooding Maria as she lay back on Michael's chest. The scenes and flashes still didn't make sense. 

The windows of the abandoned house they were in shattered, and Michael held Maria tightly. A curly blonde woman in a short red dress walked over the debris and stood over the couple. She looked at the whitelighter who was still reeling from helping Maria. "Thank you for making everything so much easier," she crooned at Leo. And then she turned back at Maria. 

"I knew I wasn't mistaken. You were close by. I've been trying to find you, and now you're here. Welcome, sister dear. This is our new home." And then she clapped her hand, giggled, and embraced Maria. "The Slayer may have a key," she said, touching Maria's hair, "but now I have my own type of key. It's all unfolding right in front of my eyes," the woman said with excitement. "Your baby is going to unleash all the powers of all the gods in our plane! You don't remember… but we were such a great team before you had to go and fall in love with the Antarian who worshipped in your temple." 

She glanced at Michael, who glared at her while holding Maria. "You're not the king! This is not the king!" she yelled at Leo. "Your Elders couldn't even get the prophecy right?" she demanded. "The golden goddess and the King of Antar, d-ickheads!" She smiled at Maria, who was still groggy and couldn't process what she was saying. "We're going to have as much fun here as we did in our plane before you went and fell for the Antarian," she giggled. "Oh you still have too vague a recollection of me, don't you? I'm your sister Glorificus. I go by Glory here. What's the earth name you're using, sweetie?" 

Maria wet her lips and tried to form the words to respond to Glory. She couldn't get enough breath to speak. Glory narrowed her eyes at the orbs appearing near them. Her eyes lit up when Paige orbed in with Max. "There you are!" Glory clapped her hands. "I have to tell you, I was soooo pissed at you when you got my little sis booted out of our plane. But past is past!" Glory shrugged. "Now we need your services to open our way back to our dimension. So go and get her pregnant. I'll wait." Glory smiled sweetly. 

Max sputtered, and Michael growled. Maria finally found enough indignation to blubber and stand up. "What in heaven's name are you talking about? I'm hu-man. Hu-man! And all this crap about my kid opening portals… that's insane and stupid! You wanna leave here, you open it! And I am NEVER having sex with Max. That's just… eeewww!" 

Paige looked on confused. "Okay. What's this?" 

"Family affair, witch," Glory snapped at her. "Git!" 

The brunette searched for Michael with her eyes and saw him nod at her. She orbed out. Leo was still there. He would get the Charmed Ones if they were needed. "Look, Glory, I don't know how you take past lives and all, but Maria, whoever she was in your plane, is not that anymore." 

Glory stomped her foot. "The prophecy. She," she pointed at Maria, "and he," at Max, "should just get it on. I take the baby and rule my plane and I'll let them live happily ever after." 

Maria's jaw dropped open. "I am SO not your breeding horse!" Maria exclaimed. "If you're my sister, I am not spending an eternity with you." 

"Chastity—" Glory began. 

Although very confused and furious about the sudden turn of events, Michael had enough wits to laugh. "That's Maria." 

"That was her god name," Glory said. 

"Well then that's definitely not the Maria incarnation now!" Maria elbowed him in the ribs. 

"Glory." Maria approached her 'sister' and slung her arm around the woman's shoulders. "Whatever this thing between me and Max a lifetime ago that caused us our place in our plane, I'm sorry. Obviously was a big mistake. But I'm not spawning a kid just to reinstate your godhood. I'm already totally happy and fulfilled with Michael. Now I now this may anger you," Maria said, "but I'm banking on the fact that I used to be this… Chastity," Maria choked out. "And you won't hurt me." 

"Ahhhh! You are so frustrating!" Glory pulled at her own hair. "You've always had to have your own way!" She hmphed and glared at Michael and Max, who she has always seen as totally unsuitable and pathetic excuses for planet leaders. No wonder Antar collapsed. "Fine. You won't help me by doing me one teeeny weeeny favor and getting it on with the boy king, then so be it. I'll get the other key. I'm already hot on its trail. I think it's the witch Tara." 

Glory stalked off, but before disappearing, she turned to Maria. "But remember how you refused to do this for me, Chastity. I won't even talk to you again!" Glory left them alone. 

"That freaked me out," Maria said. 

"Ditto." 

Max held up his hands and looked at Leo. "So me and her—" 

"Destiny is your own making," the whitelighter answered. "And see, even before you knew all this, you've already fallen in love with other people. Loving is prior and prerequisite to knowing." 

Michael wrapped his arms around Maria, encircling her from her back. "This was one heck of a trip!" 

Maria rested her head back on Michael's chest and agreed. "I do not want to see another supernatural thing ever again!" she groaned. 

"So I guess you're leaving California then?" Leo inquired. 

Michael nodded. "I'll go say goodbye to the Halliwells, and Maria will say goodbye to her friends." 

"You're going back to the group. We still have empty seats in the van." 

Michael felt Maria's head shaking. "Sorry, Max. I think we need time alone with each other first. So where to, Maria? Goddess?" he teased. 

"Michael, you've called me goddess even before Leo, the prophecy and Glory appeared in our lives!" She laughed easily. "Off the top of my head, I'd say we can visit… Boston? Philly? I don't know. We'll try using darts."   
  
  
  


end


End file.
